Demonstrators accuse Marco Kroon of assault when disrupting Liberation Day protest
Five protesters who were arrested during a commemoration on May 5 have filed charges against army officer Marco Kroon, who ended the protest by dragging one of the demonstrators away. They accuse Kroon, who holds the rank of major, of assault and violently and unlawfully disrupting a demonstration, NOS reports.
The incident happened during Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans’ speech at a Liberation Day event in Wageningen on May 5. Two of the five protesters unfurled a banner reading, among other things: “Liberation for everyone: trans rights, free healthcare, free education, animal liberation, free Palestine.”
Kroon intervened. Video footage shows him leaving the stage during the speech when he sees the demonstrators walking onto the square, grabbing one of the protesters, and dragging him away. According to lawyer Willem Jebbink, who represents the protesters, Kroon dragged the demonstrator for several meters, injuring him.
Jebbink pointed out that his clients were demonstrating peacefully and quietly, and Kroon did not have the right or authorization to end that protest. “It raises the question of who was actually responsible for the disturbance here,” Jebbink told ANP.
“Intervention in a demonstration is only possible after a decision by the mayor,” Jebbink said. So the police should have intervened if it were necessary, not a soldier on his own account. According to the lawyer, a citizen’s arrest is only permitted if no unnecessary violence is used. “That was not the case here.”
Marco Kroon has not responded to the charges against him. He previously called the demonstration inappropriate and disrespectful and said that he was extra alert to disruptions.
Kroon received the Military Order of Willem, the highest military award in the Netherlands, for heroic actions in Afghanistan. Since then, he has made several negative headlines. In 2019, for example, he was sentenced to community service for headbutting a cop.
